Carbohydrate Group

The Carbohydrate Group is one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's many Interest Groups. The Interest Groups are member driven groups which exist to benefit RSC members, and the wider chemical science community, in line with the RSC's strategy and charter.

Scope

Glycotechnology is leading to new products and understanding in biomedicine, firstly via mammalian glycoconjugates and secondly via non-mammalian glycoconjugates and polysaccharides which are potential pharmaceuticals and targets for drug design.

For example, plants and seaweed have oligosaccharides with many pharmacological effects, microbial antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs contain monosaccharide components, and cell walls of micro-organisms are targets for immunotherapy.

Polysaccharides from the agricultural industry are multi-million pound commercial products in many industrial and domestic areas and are set to gain further prominence as green fuel sources and neutraceuticals (health from diet).

Why is Carbohydrate Chemistry Important?

Studies of interactions between carbohydrates and proteins are vital in understanding the potential controls of many biological processes. Nature has invested much time in devising enzymes and receptors which are highly specific in their interactions with carbohydrates.

Orders of magnitude of structural information and diversity can more readily be carried in carbohydrates in comparison with peptides of the same molecular size.

Get Involved

We are always looking for new members who are keen to get involved and to help organise our activities. If you would like to find out more please contact the Secretary.

Join this Interest Group

If you are a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and would like to join an Interest Group, please contact Membership Department using the email link below with: